Land "Imprinter" Helps Establish Crops In Dry Soils

Land "Imprinter" Helps Establish Crops In Dry Soils PLANTERS Planters 24-6-26 Imagine a checkerboard pattern of little ponds all across the field. The ponds, made by a seeder, can catch and hold more than a liter of water and help keep soil moist around seeds and eventually, around new seedlings. Called the Land Imprinter, this seeder is the brain child of Bob Dixon, Tuscon, Arizona. It's an idea he's been involved with for nearly 25 years. The original imprinter, Dixon says, was fabricated in Tombstone, Arizona by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. It has since been used to seed perennial grasses onto 50,000 acres of severely overgrazed rangeland in southern Arizona. Dixon says a number of ranchers have made their own imprinter-seeders. "It's a very simple machine consisting of only two moving parts - the imprinting roller and the seedbox agitator." Dixon will provide specifications to anyone who wants to make their own imprinter-seeder in widths from 3 to 10 ft. "A 7-ft. tow-type model is expected to become available from a short-line manufacturer in the near future. It will be equipped with a seeder and hydraulic lifting wheels," he says. Dixon expects the price of the 7-ft. model to be about $15,000. It will require a minimum 40 hp tractor with good traction. He sees it as being useful in rangeland/pasture restoration or forage crop establishment. "Advantages over other methods include better soil and water conservation, better stands of vegetation, faster growing seedlings, and greater production of forage/plant material. It can operate in rough terrain with brush, rocks and gullies without breakdown," he notes. "Imprinting has successfully established vegetation in areas of the Mojave Desert where there's only 3 in. of annual rainfall." Contact: FARM SHOW Follow-up, The 6, Robert M. Dixon, 1231 E. Big Rock Road, Tucson, Arizona 85718 (ph 520297-6165; fax 520-323-8150; E-mail: rmdixon@imprinting.org).

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